Whaddaya know, our elected officials represented the people. Maybe our corporate overlords blew all their bribe money in the House and forgot to save some for the Senate. If so, they won't make that mistake next time.

They will be back. Except this time it will be called the "Defending and Enhancing Patriot Rights Provision and Abolish Communism Treatise" or the DERP-ACT. Anyone who doesn't vote for it is not a patriot, supports communism, and doesn't want to "enhance" our rights... also they drown puppies.

Remember, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear!

Seriously though, I'm afraid that eventually they'll just sneak it into something popular, like a tax cut or something, and get it passed like that.

Whaddaya know, our elected officials represented the people. Maybe our corporate overlords blew all their bribe money in the House and forgot to save some for the Senate. If so, they won't make that mistake next time.

This is the same thing that happened last year. If that were really the case, I'm sure they would have learned from their mistake by now.

They will be back. Except this time it will be called the "Defending and Enhancing Patriot Rights Provision and Abolish Communism Treatise" or the DERP-ACT. Anyone who doesn't vote for it is not a patriot, supports communism, and doesn't want to "enhance" our rights... also they drown puppies.

Whaddaya know, our elected officials represented the people. Maybe our corporate overlords blew all their bribe money in the House and forgot to save some for the Senate. If so, they won't make that mistake next time.

One of the advantages of rich Senators- they are relatively immune to corporate/donor pressure (when it doesn't align with their own financial interests).

Whaddaya know, our elected officials represented the people. Maybe our corporate overlords blew all their bribe money in the House and forgot to save some for the Senate. If so, they won't make that mistake next time.

One of the advantages of rich Senators- they are relatively immune to corporate/donor pressure (when it doesn't align with their own financial interests).

And senators must appeal to a wider swath of voters. Not just a small group in some rural area who are single issue voters or are prone to conspiracy theories and eat up stories of "creeping Sharia law".

Whaddaya know, our elected officials represented the people. Maybe our corporate overlords blew all their bribe money in the House and forgot to save some for the Senate. If so, they won't make that mistake next time.

You're saying that the Senate represented the people and the House didn't. That idea makes me sad.

They will be back. Except this time it will be called the "Defending and Enhancing Patriot Rights Provision and Abolish Communism Treatise" or the DERP-ACT. Anyone who doesn't vote for it is not a patriot, supports communism, and doesn't want to "enhance" our rights... also they drown puppies.

I'm honestly not trying to pick nits, but wouldn't that be DEPRP-ACT?

True... but DERP just rolls off the tongue easier, and is a metaphor too!

Whaddaya know, our elected officials represented the people. Maybe our corporate overlords blew all their bribe money in the House and forgot to save some for the Senate. If so, they won't make that mistake next time.

You're saying that the Senate represented the people and the House didn't. That idea makes me sad.

Are they really authoritarian? Given the power this gives to corporations and eases the cooperation of government and corporation, wouldn't this be a fascist law?

It takes privacy away from the people so it's authoritarian, whether or not it's also something else. And the power it gives to corporations also increases government power.

I think mayhaps you want to go study South America/Central America during the 1980s and compare them to the U.S. system before you throw the word "authoritarian" around.

I just looked up authoritarianism and it seemed to match the use that was being offered. Just because it isn't as bad or in the same vein as a different manifestation, it's somehow not a valid term anymore to use in a situation where it matches?

They will be back. Except this time it will be called the "Defending and Enhancing Patriot Rights Provision and Abolish Communism Treatise" or the DERP-ACT. Anyone who doesn't vote for it is not a patriot, supports communism, and doesn't want to "enhance" our rights... also they drown puppies.

Remember, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear!

Seriously though, I'm afraid that eventually they'll just sneak it into something popular, like a tax cut or something, and get it passed like that.

Of course it'll be back, that's how democracy works - even stupid ideas can be fought for and they often are.

That's also part of why it's hard to find too many moderates in politics - it's hard to continue to fight all the time if you aren't a true believer in your cause. Still, it's an important part of the system; it would be just as wrong of us to silence them for being stupid as it would be for them to create a Big Brother world.

On a completely different note, I (momentarily) retract all comments I ever made about Rockefeller being a shadow of his grandfather's power.

Are they really authoritarian? Given the power this gives to corporations and eases the cooperation of government and corporation, wouldn't this be a fascist law?

Maybe. I chose "authoritarian" over "fascist" since I feel that the latter word has been overused; rather than jackboots in the streets, we're seeing more smiley-face "for the children" themed power grabbing in this country.

The end result is the same: a select group of people currently in power think that they know what's good for the rest of us unwashed masses, and they'll do whatever they can to ensure that their will is done.